I'm no Madonna fan, but I wonder....

[Moonliner]

I agree it's not fair to the prospective parents but is a "fastrack" for the rich and famous a bad thing for the kids?

If Mr. and Mrs. Delight of CA adopt a child that's great for that one kid but if Ms. Ciccone of CA adopts a child it's great for that kid and it makes headlines all over the world. That type of press coverage will probably inspire at least a few people to adopt a child themselves. Win-Win.

[MouseWife]

I thought that Madonna was going to make a big contribution to the Malawis? To help build a school or something?

I wonder why, at this stage, is all of the complaining coming about? Obviously it has been in the process for a while.

About the adoption. {and I am only going by what little I've heard} The boy was living in an orphanage? This is something I heard many years ago...

My sister used to go to TJ with her church to the orphanages to tend to the children and the families. See, the families would place the children there because they couldn't tend to them but they were still their parents. Maybe they aren't really called orphanages?

We had been considering adopting a child from there and my husband spoke with a friend from work {who lived in TJ}. He said the kids were not up for adoption. They frowned upon adoption. The parents didn't want to give up their kids, they just couldn't take care of them.

Perhaps this father thought that it would be best for the child for Madonna to adopt him {maybe she did give him money or else just the thought that he would have a better life/he wouldn't have to worry about him any more} but then he got flak from it {like others have mentioned}.

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

I agree it's not fair to the prospective parents but is a "fastrack" for the rich and famous a bad thing for the kids?

If Mr. and Mrs. Delight of CA adopt a child that's great for that one kid but if Ms. Ciccone of CA adopts a child it's great for that kid and it makes headlines all over the world. That type of press coverage will probably inspire at least a few people to adopt a child themselves. Win-Win.

Yes, the same people who now carry little kick dogs in their purses because Paris Hilton does. Needy children are needy children wherever they live, but the fact that Madonna and Angelina adopt from abroad rather than from America gives the whole thing an unpleasant whiff of the exotic.

[Isaac]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

paging Mr. zapppop, paging Mr. zapppop.

You paged ?

I've been keeping track of the story & I really don't understand why Madonna is getting so much crap for this.

To my understanding, this is what happened:

A few months ago, Madonna & Guy wanted to have another child. Madonna's doctors recommended she'd not have another pregnancy after having health complications with last two. Just for example; Rocco was born a month early after her placentia detached. She had to be rushed to the hospital for an emergency "C-section" or else the baby would have died. Also she suffered huge loss of blood & could have died as well. So with that in mind, Madonna talked with Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie, and Angelina highly recommended that Madonna adopt a child, just like she did with little Maddox. So after her Confessions Tour ended, Madonna & Guy went to Malawi to visit several orphanages. While there Madonna also donated money to fund the construction of a new orphanage for children who lost their parents to aids. Madonna eventually picked out a little boy named David (1yr old). David's father Yohane Banda found out about his son's adoption and was thrilled. He claimed " I am very very happy because as you can see there is poverty in this village and I know he will be very well looked after in America." Madonna filed adoption papers & was granted custody of the child, with an 18 month evaluation period. Baby David was flown to London to live with the Ritchie family & that's when a wierd backlash took place. For some reason, people in the press as well as a few human rights groups began making false accusations that Madonna did not follow proper adoption procedures, and began trying to vilify her actions, claiming she was destroying a family by taking away a son from his father. Yahone quickly blasted those critics by saying " Where were these people when David was struggling in the orphanage? These so-called human rights groups should leave my baby alone. As father I have okayed this, I have no problem; the village has no problem, who are they to cause trouble? Please let them stop." Then Yahone did a 180 and claimed he had no idea that his son would be leaving the village and moving to England. He's now claiming he was tricked by Madonna & the orphanage. The orphanage blasted Yahone's comments and quoted his previous statements to prove he was full of crap. So for now, Madonna has little David in her care & the media is having a field day. What did Madonna have to say about all this ?

I expect to be given a hard time about many of the things I do. I know they are provocative and I prepare myself, but I did not expect the media, the government or any human rights organisations to take a stand against me trying to save a child's life.

My husband and I began the adoption process many months prior to our trip to Malawi.
I did not wish to disclose my intentions to the world prior to the adoption happening as this is a private family matter.
After learning that there were over one million orphans in Malawi, it was my wish to open up our home and help one child escape an extreme life of hardship, poverty and in many cases death, as well as expand our family.
Nevertheless, we have gone about the adoption procedure according to the law like anyone else who adopts a child. Reports to the contrary are totally inaccurate.
The procedure includes an 18-month evaluation period after which time we hope to make this adoption permanent.
This was not a decision or commitment that my family or I take lightly.
I am overwhelmed and inspired by my trip to Malawi and hope that it helps bring attention to how much more the world needs to do to help the children of Africa.
My heartfelt thanks for all the good wishes I have received and I hope the press will allow my family some room for us to experience the joy we feel to have David home.

I really don't understand why she's being bashed for this. Madonna has said that she would take David on trips to Malawi so he could keep in touch with his father & his roots. My only concern about her adoption of David is the timing of it. Madonna just finished a new set of children's books and the first one titled 'Too Good To Be True' (a sequel to The English Roses) was released today. I suspect people will misinterpret her adoption as a publicity stunt to promote her new books.

As if Madonna wasn't getting enough attention, NBC as announced that when they air Madonna's Confessions Tour next month, they will re-edit her performance of 'Live To Tell'. Some people had a cow when the saw Madonna singing the song while tied to a cross. NBC has decided to censor the performance by using alternate camera angles so you won't see her on the cross.

Madonna will be on Oprah tomorrow. It could be interesting.

[Alex]

Apparently the newish element of the scandal is that her educational foundation in Malawi will promote kabbalah. I'm not sure why this bothers people (any more than any other religious missionary-ism that goes on in Africa), but then just seeing that teaser was enough to make me change the channel so maybe there was something actually important in the story.

I don't really care, so long as the appropriate people gave consent for the adoption. The people I know who have adopted from other countries (three from Eastern Europe and one from China) did so simply because it was a much faster process than trying to adopt in the United States with much more certainty of success and minimal risk of later intrusion from birth parents.

[wendybeth]

Well, now bio-dad has changed his story, and as much as I am not a Madonna fan, I'm inclined to believe him. Dad changes stance on adoption.

While I mostly agree with SL with regards to exotic adoptions, the thought that this little boy would probably die without Madonna's adopting him makes me think that maybe anything that gets this little guy a chance at a life is alright. He's adorable, as are all little ones, and he deserves a chance every bit as much as anyone in this world.

[Isaac]

If anyone's interested, here's an audio clip from Oprah's interview with Madonna.

[Nephythys]

I read it was the UK who had a problem with her adoption- that it possibly had not been done according to UK law?

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Nephythys

I read it was the UK who had a problem with her adoption- that it possibly had not been done according to UK law?

I believe it was the special interest groups claiming that, as far as I've read (which I admit is not much) the UK gov has not had any issues.

[Nephythys]

let me look for the link-

can't find the original link but found this-

Legal experts in Britain have also raised concerns over whether the UK's equally tight criteria regarding foreign adoptions have been met, as the process normally takes between two and four years.

It was something about the group that does the home study not being contacted- though they admit it could have been done privately. But it was not a special interest griup, it was the people who make sure adoptions are done legally in the UK.